Review: Favreau's 'Chef' cooked to perfection

Mick LaSall, Times Union

By Mick LaSalle, Hearst Newspapers

Published 4:59 pm, Thursday, May 22, 2014

Jon Favreau whips up lunch in his office at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, April 16, 2014. Favreau, an actor and filmmaker, prepared the meal with skills left over from his new movie, "Chef," a small film he is serving up between blockbusters. (David Walter Banks/The New York Times) -- PHOTO MOVED IN ADVANCE AND NOT FOR USE - ONLINE OR IN PRINT - BEFORE APRIL 27, 2014. ORG XMIT: XNYT121

Jon Favreau whips up lunch in his office at Venice Beach in Los...

Jon Favreau, left, whips up lunch in his office at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, April 16, 2014. Favreau, an actor and filmmaker, prepared the meal with skills left over from his new movie, "Chef," a small film he is serving up between blockbusters. (David Walter Banks/The New York Times) -- PHOTO MOVED IN ADVANCE AND NOT FOR USE - ONLINE OR IN PRINT - BEFORE APRIL 27, 2014. ORG XMIT: XNYT120

Jon Favreau, left, whips up lunch in his office at Venice Beach in...

Jon Favreau, left, whips up lunch in his office at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, April 16, 2014. Favreau, an actor and filmmaker, prepared the meal with skills left over from his new movie, "Chef," a small film he is serving up between blockbusters. (David Walter Banks/The New York Times) -- PHOTO MOVED IN ADVANCE AND NOT FOR USE - ONLINE OR IN PRINT - BEFORE APRIL 27, 2014. ORG XMIT: XNYT122

"Chef" is about the artist's life. The fact that the artist in this case is a first-class cook makes his creations more accessible and visual than if he were, say, writing novels or composing music. But the main features and challenges of the artist's existence: The strains on family, the distractions of security, the fear of critics, and the need, every so often, to forget everything else and just fall in love with the work again.

This is the third feature film written and directed by Jon Favreau, who vaulted to fame with "Swingers" (1996) and followed that with "Made" (2001), both superior comedies. In recent years, Favreau has concentrated mainly on directing other people's screenplays, including "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2." But "Chef" is the best thing he has ever done, either as writer or director or actor. It's the sort of thing of beauty that filmmakers are ultimately remembered for.

It's 115 minutes long, and while the time goes quickly, the movie feels richer than its length, as though someone's whole life were being experienced and illuminated. It's an American film with a languorous European flavor — full of colorful incidents, as in a Hollywood movie, but seemingly just floating along, not heading toward some fixed point. With most American movies, you know exactly where they're going within 20 minutes and even know how they're getting there. But two-thirds into "Chef," the movie is still revealing itself and presenting surprises, not earth-shaking turns of story, but rich little moments between people.

Favreau knows how to write scenes that stand out, and so he is able to get top actors to take small roles. Robert Downey Jr., appears in only one scene. Dustin Hoffman and Oliver Platt appear in two, respectively; and Scarlett Johansson in three. But their scenes are vivid and key to the story. Had unknowns taken those same roles, people would still walk out talking about those moments, among others.

Favreau himself plays Carl, a chef who started out 10 years ago as a young up-and-comer and has now fallen into a groove of fried scallops and lava cake. (Actually, the less adventurous food here looks just as delicious as the more authentic food.) At the start of the movie, he is preparing for that night's visit by the area's most important restaurant critic (Platt), but the restaurant owner (Hoffman) won't let Carl try something challenging. He wants Carl to "play" his "hits."

From the movie's first moments, Favreau lets us know that Carl's commitment is profound, that he's great chef, and that it would be a privilege to eat anything he cooked. At the same time, we recognize that he is going through a crisis, and that the crisis is on all sides, personal and professional. Later, when it's all over, we can see the pathway out of the fog, but in the midst of it, we just share in the character's dilemma — that he's getting older, that he's no longer the hot new thing, that he has no money, and that he's ignoring his 10-year-old son and feels guilty about it.

Kids in movies are usually borderline evil, and parent-child relationships are usually poisonous, even when sentimentalized, but "Chef," for all its other virtues, is an honest and positive movie about a father and son. Favreau and young Emjay Anthony share an interaction so natural and convincing that I gradually started wondering whether Favreau had gone ahead and cast his own kid. But no, they're just acting.

Sofia Vergara, who plays Carl's ex-wife, is directed away from her usual exuberance and gives her warmest performance to date. Social media — mainly Twitter — has a recurring presence in "Chef": Every time Carl tweets something he shouldn't, a little blue graphic goes twittering across the frame, out of the cage and off to do merry mischief. Throughout, the movie benefits from Favreau's distinct sense of humor, which mixes playfulness with dread and embarrassment.

To look at Carl's story and at the trajectory of Favreau's career is to wonder whether their stories overlap, and where. For example, does Favreau look back on the "Iron Man" movies with pride, or were they just lava cakes, served up for a payday? Either way, and no matter how you slice it, "Chef" is authentic cuisine.